Posted on 17 July, 2018

The Kilsyth Lady Cobras have inched closer towards securing a first round home playoff game following a dominant 81-57 road win over Frankston on Saturday night.

Trailing by three points after one period of play, the Lady Cobras quickly put this one out of reach, riding a stifling second quarter defensive effort to build an insurmountable double-digit lead — one they would not relinquish. Kilsyth put the clamps down defensively in a dominant 10 minute stretch, holding the Blues to just four second quarter points – on 1-15 shooting – to take a 38-23 lead into halftime.

The Lady Cobras lead didn’t drop below 11 the rest of the way as they cruised to their seventh 20-plus point victory of the season.

Saturday’s win was a vital one for coach Sam Woosnam’s team, with the Lady Cobras putting a stop to a two-game skid with an impressive two-way performance.

“Saturday night was a great team performance,” Woosnam said.

“We focused on effort areas which have been lacking in recent weeks and the girls did a great job.”

With two-time SEABL MVP Steph Blicavs away on national team duties, the Lady Cobras picked up the scoring load as a collective, with five players finishing the game with double-digit totals. Reigning league-MVP Angela Beadle led Kilsyth with game-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds; Jasmine Gill added 14 points; Taylor Lee recorded 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting; Chelsea D’Angelo finished with 11 points and seven rebounds; and Hope Terdich chipped-in with 10 points and eight boards off the bench.

“Without our leading scorer (Steph) we took a little while to get going offensively, but once we locked down on defence and got stops, our transition game got better and better,” Woosnam said.

“Everyone contributed in a positive way which is a really great sign for us as finals approach.”

The win moves Kilsyth to 14-5 on the season, maintaining a one game lead over the Nunawading Spectres for second in the SEABL standings. The Lady Cobras can secure the league’s second seed this Saturday when they head to Albury-Wodonga to take on the Bandits (6pm), with a win guaranteeing a first round finals showdown at home against Nunawading on Saturday July 28. If the Lady Cobras lose, they could see themselves drop into third place, which would still see them play the Spectres, but on the road.